Trucks having trailers with flat beds, which are well known in the transportation industry, are commonly used for shipping goods, either locally, regionally or internationally. In order to protect goods loaded on the flat bed from exposure to the elements, vandalism or theft, the goods are typically covered with tarpaulins, or tarps.
Many types of systems exist that facilitate the covering and uncovering of a flat bed trailer with a tarp. By way of example, one type of system includes a plurality of arch-shaped frames, referred to as “cars”, having wheels mounted at each end of the arch. These wheels are received by, and can slide in “C”-shaped tracks mounted on the sides of a flat bed, such that the arch of each of the cars extends over the surface of the flat bed. The cars are arranged at spaced intervals along the entire length of the flat bed, and a tarp extends over and is affixed to the arches of the cars to cover the flat bed.
The flat bed can be uncovered by sliding the car at the back of the flat bed towards the front, causing it and the other cars to gather at the front of the flat bed and the tarp to retract, exposing the flat bed. The flat bed can be re-covered by sliding the rear car toward the back of the flat bed again, causing the remaining cars to return to their original spaced apart positions and the tarp to unfurl, covering the flat bed.